fluke

1 of 3

noun (1)

ˈflük 

1

: a stroke of luck

The discovery was a fluke.

Her second championship shows that the first one was no mere fluke.

2

: an accidentally successful stroke at billiards or pool

fluke

2 of 3

noun (2)

1

: flatfish

2

: a flattened digenetic trematode worm

broadly : trematode compare liver fluke

fluke

3 of 3

noun (3)

1

: the part of an anchor that fastens in the ground see anchor illustration

2

: one of the lobes of a whale's tail

Synonyms of fluke

Noun (1)

• accident
• chance
• luck

Examples of fluke in a Sentence

Noun (1)

the discovery of oil on their property was just an amazing fluke

Recent Examples on the Web

Noun

While this season appears lost for the Commanders, Daniels seems determined to at least end the year on a positive note and show that making the NFC Championship Game last season was no fluke. —Reice Shipley, MSNBC Newsweek, 4 Dec. 2025

Nathan Lambert, a senior research scientist at the Allen Institute for AI and an expert on the open-model AI ecosystem, told NBC News that Chinese models’ recent progress is no fluke. —Jasmine Cui, NBC news, 30 Nov. 2025

That two commercial space companies now have orbital rockets that can be partially reused shows that SpaceX’s success was no fluke. —Wendy Whitman Cobb, The Conversation, 14 Nov. 2025

Contact quality metrics suggest that his offensive breakout wasn’t a fluke. —Chris Kirschner, New York Times, 3 Nov. 2025

Word History

Etymology

Noun (1)

origin unknown

Noun (2)

Middle English floke, fluke, from Old English flōc; akin to Old English flōh chip, Old High German flah smooth, Greek plax flat surface, and probably to Old English flōr floor — more at floor

Noun (3)

perhaps from fluke entry 2

First Known Use

Noun (1)

1857, in the meaning defined at sense 2

Noun (2)

before the 12th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Noun (3)

1561, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Phrases Containing fluke

• blood fluke
• liver fluke

Rhymes for fluke

• juke
• kook
• luc
• luke
• nuke
• puke
• souk
• spook
• archduke
• rebuke
• caoutchouc

Kids Definition

fluke

1 of 3 noun

ˈflük 

: any of various trematode flatworms compare liver fluke

fluke

2 of 3 noun

1

: the part of an anchor that digs into the ground

2

: a barbed head (as of a harpoon)

3

: one of the lobes of a whale's tail

fluke

3 of 3 noun

: a stroke of good luck

won by a fluke

fluky

ˈflü-kē

adjective

Medical Definition

fluke

noun

ˈflük 

: a flattened digenetic trematode worm

broadly : trematode see liver fluke